Currently, recording of television programs by individuals for viewing at a later time, is generally performed using commercially available Video Cassette Recorders (VCRs). Typically, a VCR may be either manually placed into a record mode or may be programmed to record a selected program at a later time. To program the VCR, the user either enters a date, time and channel of the program desired to be recorded, or enters an identification code of the desired program.
Viewers of television programming increasingly have more choices as to which programs to view. For example, cable television provides a dramatic increase in the number of channels available to a viewer in comparison to the channels available by way of a conventional television antenna. Digital satellite systems provide even more viewing choices. Digital broadcast of programs over cable television systems is expected to further increase the number of channels available to viewers.
One effect of the increase in the number of viewing choices is increased difficulty in deciding which programs to watch. People, particularly those with busy schedules, may not have the time to select and view programs to determine which programs they may or may not like. Programs that may otherwise be desirable to a viewer may never be watched if the program is broadcast at a time that is inconvenient for the viewer. User's may select certain programs for viewing to determine if they like the program. However, with several hundred program selections each week, this task can take a considerable amount of time and is likely to cause certain desirable programs to be overlooked.
It would therefore be desirable to have a system that automatically determines which programs to record based on user viewing preferences. Ideally, appropriate programs matching the user's viewing preferences could then be recorded, thus relieving the user from the task of selecting programs to record from among potentially hundreds of program selections.